* Humidifiers, which were essentially used to maintain optimal indoor humidity,
have turned into a household appliance that promotes health by emitting anion.
It has recently become one of the noteworthy appliances with well being boom.
*According to the Korean Intellectual Property Office, patents pending
on humidifiers totaled 105 cases in 2004. The functions of humidifiers are
becoming more various.
- The patents pending on humidifiers totaled 130 in
1997, and after financial crisis it has decreased significantly. From 2001, with
more than 70 pending, the number of cases is slowly recovering.
(130 cases
in 1997 -> 22 cases in 1998 -> 75 cases in 2001 -> 105 cases in 2004)
[refer to note 1]
*Recently patent pending humidifiers not only have
the previous humidity controlling function but also have additional functions; ①
generates refreshing negative ions ② purifies and deodorizes air ③has both cool
& warm mist functions ④ generates micro-fine mists by ultrasonic vibration ⑤
lowers noise etc.
- Among the new functions that were patent-pended for
the last 5 years, the humidity controlling function was the most with 29%
amounting to 117 cases. Then comes the negative ion generation with 92 cases,
22%. Air purification/deodorization is 17%. Warm & cool mist emission and
ultrasound are 7% respectively. The noise lowering comes to have 1%.
[Refer
to note 2]
*Analyzing the frequency per patent pending, individual
pending was 53%, which was the most. Then was the corporate pending, 42%, and
foreign pending was 4%.
[Refer to note 1]
* The market share of
Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, Ohsung Co., and Cuckoo all together is
about 73%. In 2004, 900,000 humidifiers were sold in domestic market.
- In
export sales, Ohsung is selling over 500,000 humidifiers to Japan , and Cockoo
is selling over 10,000 to Russia. They are grossing over 26 billion Won (about
26 million dollars) from the foreign market.
* Jongsoo Lee, chief of
Ohsung, said “Demands from humidifier users are increasing and becoming more
diverse. In order to meet their demands, securing exclusive patents and
increasing funds for R&D is urgent.
*What is negative ion?
- A
negative air ion is generally a molecule of oxygen with an extra electron with
an electric charge of -. It can be found in forests, waterfalls, hot springs,
seashore, etc. It is refreshing to the human body.
- When you inhale
negative ion, it spurs metabolism of cells and increases vitality. It purifies
blood and reduces irritability and depression and improves cognitive performance
and appetite. That is why we call it the ‘air vitamin.’
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